Use as a secondary account possible

Open free current account ► without ◄ salary transfer (but with credit card)

15.11.2017

More and more banks turn the salary payment –, partially even with a certain minimum amount –, into a requirement for the free account management. Well, and many banks generally charge account management fees or fees for the cards.

Is there a free alternative?

Yes! It exists … and you will find out all the important details about it. If you want to open a new free current account – for the primary or secondary use –, then this article is made for you!

This is how your new account would look like:

• no account management fees (no matter, if any money is deposited at all)
• free Girocard (former EC-Card)
• free Visa Card (credit card)
• withdraw cash for free (in Germany + Euro-countries)

Agree? These were the four most important conditions of the account. You ask, which bank offers this account? The DKB, my personal favourite current account bank.

Links for readers with little time:

Information page of the DKB ► https://www.dkb.de/privatkunden/dkb_cash/
Open the online application directly ► https://cash.dkb.de/ch/app/cash
For our readers ► step-by-step instructions.

DKB: Free current account without salary transfer, but with credit card

Result: account opening done within 10 minutes!

Details to the free current account of the DKB

1. Account management

The account management takes place exclusively online.

Do you need bank statements? Download them as PDFs, save them or print them. The DKB does not offer bank statement printers. This, of course, saves a lot of costs (that you do not have to pay through an account management fee).

For most private users, it is enough to access the bank transactions via online banking or banking app. I do that too.

The DKB is a pure direct bank. You can call or write the bank (e-mail/letter), but you cannot visit it.

The practical use is that you set up and retrieve transfers, standing orders and other orders by yourself. Once tested, this is pretty easy. I do it already since 2004.

2. Withdraw cash

You can withdraw cash almost everywhere in Germany and in all further Euro-countries at third-party ATMs.

The DKB only operates very few own ATMs, however, bears the costs for the withdrawal at the ATM of your choice.

If you have been a savings bank customer until now, then you can visit your local savings bank as usual (same way). You insert the DKB Visa Card into the ATM and choose an amount between Euros 50 and 1,000 for withdrawal.

Per withdrawal, a fee of Euros 1.75 is charged. The DKB bears it for you and pays it to the money-issuing ATM-provider.

More then 35,000 fee-free ATMs within Germany for you!

It could be that your old bank earns more through your cash withdrawals in the future, than you have formerly left there in account management fees.

3. Girocard

You receive a Girocard also without annual fee. The name EC-card is still widespread. You can make the payments of your daily needs with this card.

In participating supermarkets, such as Penny, Rewe, Netto and in the Toom construction market, you can additionally withdraw free of charge up to Euros 200 from the cash register from a purchase amount of Euros 20.

All payments with the Girocard are – just like you are perhaps used to – withdrawn directly from the current account.

4. Visa Card

The Visa Card is a “true” credit card with an own credit card account and credit card limit. In further articles on our special portal, you can find out how to cleverly increase the credit card limit and the overdraft facility of the current account.

To start out, perhaps the information helps that you get a small overdraft facility with the account opening and you can increase it anytime by transferring from the current account. Always the way how you need it.

Please always use the Visa Card to withdraw at the ATM, because the cash supply is always free of charge (not using the Girocard).

What do you have to do in order to get these outstanding conditions?

Nothing further, but applying for the opening of the account. You get all formerly presented conditions without fuss or quibble:

Bonus: get even better conditions for 12 months!

Just to make sure: You receive everything, which was formerly described, in any case and permanently free of charge.

But the bank still adds something else: Premium conditions for the first 12 months or for people, who have a money transfer (does not have to be salary transfer) of Euros 700 or more per month. It calls this active customers.

Extract of the premium conditions:

• no foreign transaction fee for card payments or cash withdrawals in a foreign currency (usually 1.75 %)
• 0.2 % interest on balance of the Visa Card (usually 0 %)
• discounted overdraft facility interest rate of 6.9 % (usually 7.5 %)
• waives on the statutory personal contribution at card loss (usually Euros 50 or 150)
• fee-free emergency card or emergency cash (usually Euros 149)
• + Club and Cashback programs, online safe and free entrance cards for sponsered sport events

Why does the bank give me these premium conditions for one year?

The answer is simple: The bank knows that its current account is outstandingly good. But does the new customer know that too? It wants to make it as easy as possible for the new customer to make many positive experiences with account and card. At best, so that one thinks about using the account as the main account.

At a main account usage, more than Euros 700 flow anyways into the accounts of most account holders and the premium conditions will automatically remain.

What if I want to use the account as a secondary account?

Then the DKB is an especially good choice. If the secondary account has money deposits of Euros 700, then you keep the premium conditions. If less flows into the account, then you use it with the standard conditions. That means, like you have seen above: free account management, free Girocard, free Visa Card, withdraw cash for free.

Almost crazy, what the bank provides you for free!

By the way, it does not only do it since recently to acquire new customers. It does it at least since 2004. I know that, because that was the year in which I myself have opened my account at the DKB, and most likely, it will continue with these conditions also in the coming years. In any case, it has determined that by implementing the division into standard and premium conditions.

3 points that could thrill you

At least I am thrilled by them and present you my own experiences. Of course, with the idea to “infect” you with this emotion, so that you will look forward to your new current account!

Emergency service of the DKB

On my journey to Florida, I must have lost or maybe only forgotten my DKB Visa Card somewhere at the airport. In any case, it is pretty annoying to start a trip abroad and do not have the credit card with you (especially, if it has so great conditions).

After browsing through all my stuff, I have called the customer service of the bank – quite cheap via Skype – and ordered to block the card.

During the telephone conversation, I was offered the free issuing of an emergency card and/or emergency cash. I took advantage of both. I was able to pick up the emergency cash already at the same day in the supermarket close to me, the emergency cash arrived on the next morning by express delivery.

DKB refunds foreign transaction fee

The “foreign transaction fee” is the fee that banks and credit card companies charge for the exchange of currencies. The DKB current account, as well as the Visa Card are held in Euros. If you pay in a country with another currency, then an exchange of currency must take place.

The fee is, depending on the provider, at 1 to 3 per cent. At the DKB standard conditions, it is 1.75 per cent. At the premium conditions (active customer or in the first 12 months after account opening), this fees de facto does not exist.

The foreign transaction fee is charged though; you see the section in the credit card transactions. However, the refund of all deductions takes place automatically on the day of the credit card settlement with your current account. This is why one can say that the DKB does not charge the foreign transaction fee. Depending on your use abroad, this can save you a whole lot of money!

Cashback (proportional money back at purchases) instead of collecting points

Admittedly: I use these advantages of the DKB only rarely. However, I know that some customers will be absolutely thrilled after their account opening.

The DKB has two Cashback-programs. One is called City-Cashback. Herein, you get e.g. a free drink in the restaurant or a discount for a rental car booking when showing the DKB-Visa Card. However, this differs in the different regions.

The same for everyone is the Online-Cashback. Herein, you get at online purchases up to 14 per cent automatically refunded to your DKB current account. You do not have to do anything else, but to log into the online banking of the DKB and to access the online shop from there. This way, the connection between the DKB-Online-Cashback and the credit note is created. Sounds easy? It is!

Would you have guessed that a free current account can do so much?

Summary: You cannot do anything wrong!

… but a lot right! With the account opening at the DKB, you do not risk anything, because everything is free for you.

Moreover, everything remains free for you – no matter what you do with the account. Even if you would leave it unused.

However, it is too precious with its conditions, especially because you get the premium conditions without requirements for the first 12 months for testing.

And again independently of your actual use, everything remains free of charge also after the 12 months. Only that the service will become even better than already with incoming payments.

Questions to the account opening or account use?

The comments box is activated for you. My Team and I would be glad to help you to get familiar with the DKB account. Being a DKB customer, please feel invited to share your advices with others through the comments feature.

Articles that help to use the DKB account better:

• Condition differences between active and non-active customers
• DKB overdraft facility possible up to Euros 15,000
• Use the DKB as a joint account
• Open the DKB account being a student

For our friends from YouTube, a video to the article (English subtitle):